Books by Peter Sayer
Routledge Taylor Francis Group, Jun 12, 2012
... Language Teaching: From Method to Postmethod McKay• Researching Second Language Classrooms Eg... more ... Language Teaching: From Method to Postmethod McKay• Researching Second Language Classrooms Egbert/Petrie, Eds.• CALL Research Perspectives Canagarajah, Ed.• Reclaiming the Local in Language Policy and Practice Page 6. Adamson• Language Minority Students ...
Research Articles by Peter Sayer
The national English program in Mexico was formally launched in 2009. The new program supplanted ... more The national English program in Mexico was formally launched in 2009. The new program supplanted various state programs, and aimed to create a coherent, uniform curriculum that extended English instruction to all public school students across the country. The article describes the development, evolution, and changes as the program was piloted and implemented. The authors synthesize various sources to identify the accomplishments of the program and the challenges that remain. They argue that a main
As global English expands, developing countries feel the pressure that, in order to remain global... more As global English expands, developing countries feel the pressure that, in order to remain globally competitive, they must increase the number of people with English proficiency. In response, many countries have significantly expanded English instruction in public schools by implementing primary English language teaching (PELT) programs. This is particularly true in countries in Southeast Asia and Latin America, where national Ministries of Education have taken a " more & earlier " approach, integrating English into the public primary curriculum. Children start learning English younger and study the language more during their basic education. The author argues that this language education policy shift toward expanding English in the public education curricula in developing countries is best understood as a shift from past models of elite English bilingualism to policies intended to support the macroacquisition, or general proficiency in English. The rationale for this policy change is framed in terms of the " modernization " and " internationalization " of a country's public education system, and hence should be understood as part of the response to align education curricula and programs with neoliberal policies. The author examines Mexico's recent national English program for public primary schools as a case study in the implementation of neoliberal language policy.
Language, Culture and Curriculum, 2015
ELT Journal, 2010
... Figure 4 is a typical example from the 'Sarusa: Working Women' gym and conv... more ... Figure 4 is a typical example from the 'Sarusa: Working Women' gym and conveys a ... lot that is a hangout for neighbourhood kids announces the place as the 'URBAN STUDIO GHETTO ... Many of the slogans of social resistanceboth against the unpopular local governor as well ...
International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, Jun 30, 2014
ABSTRACT Over the past 15 years, many state governments in Mexico have initiated local programs t... more ABSTRACT Over the past 15 years, many state governments in Mexico have initiated local programs to introduce English at the primary school level. In 2009, the Mexican Ministry of Education formalized the Programa Nacional de Inglés en Educación Básica (PNIEB) as part of the national curriculum, based on the argument that increasing the number of English speakers in Mexico is necessary for the country to be globally competitive and to follow the trend in other developing economies of augmenting English instruction in public education. This paper focuses on the implementation of PNIEB and the state programs that preceded it. The authors document the practices and challenges associated with the program based on data collected from interviews with the main stakeholders involved (students and parents, teachers, school principals, and program coordinators) and from classroom observations. The total data-set consisted of over 200 interviews and classroom observations spread over several years from 2008 to 2012. Several challenges are described, including the development of materials, the role of English in relation to other subject areas, and the training of teachers who often speak English but have uneven formal preparation. The status of the teachers, both as second-class citizens within the schools and the instability and irregularities with their contracts, was identified as the most significant challenge to the successful implementation of the programs.
ELT Journal, 2005
... Discourse Analysis for Language Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seedhouse,P.... more ... Discourse Analysis for Language Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seedhouse,P. 1996. 'Classroom interaction: possibilities and impossibilities'. ELT Journal 50/1: 1624. van Lier, L. 1984. 'Analysing interaction in second language classrooms'. ...
Intercultural Education, 2012
The authors take a critical language pedagogy approach to examining a 2011 controversy over dispa... more The authors take a critical language pedagogy approach to examining a 2011 controversy over disparaging comments towards Mexicans made by commentators of the British Broadcasting Corporation’s automotive show Top Gear. In particular, they focus on the characterization of groups and individuals according to their nationality and examine the ubiquity of nationalism and its ability to shape our conception of culture and in turn our understandings of others as members of ‘X national culture.’ The fact that humor is often a justification for national stereotyping and that these stereotypes are also connected to racist discourse are also explored. In the second part of the article, the implications of the stereotyping debate for language classrooms are considered. The authors argue that the controversy itself can be used as a tool for critical engagement that helps students deconstruct the underlying nationalist paradigm in L2 classrooms and build greater intercultural awareness.Español: Los autores examinan, desde una perspectiva de la pedagogía crítica del lenguaje, la controversia que surgió en el 2011 debido a los comentarios nocivos hechos hacia los mexicanos por los locutores del show automotriz del BBC, Top Gear. En particular, se enfocan en la caracterización de los grupos e individuos de acuerdo a su nacionalidad, y examinan la ubiquidad del nacionalismo y su capacidad para darle forma a nuestra conceptualización de la cultura y, a su vez, nuestra forma de ver a otros como miembros de una ‘cultural nacional X’. Los autores también exploran el hecho de que a menudo se utiliza el humor como una justificación para los estereotipos nacionales, y que estos estereotipos también están conectados al discurso racista. En la segunda parte del artículo, se consideran las implicaciones para la enseñanza de idiomas del debate sobre los estereotipos. Argumentan los autores que la controversia en sí se puede utilizar como una herramienta para promover una postura crítica que ayude a los alumnos a deconstruir el paradigma subyacente del nacionalismo en el salón de lenguas extranjeras y fomente la conciencia intercultural.
Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 2006
Discourse, Context & Media, 2013
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 15348430701827030, Mar 24, 2008
This article poses the question of how educators can put into practice the valorization of the ve... more This article poses the question of how educators can put into practice the valorization of the vernacular and its use as a pedagogical resource. It provides a critical sociolinguistic orientation toward the use of Spanglish in schools. It gives a short descriptive overview of the linguistic ...
In Mexico there is a saying: "¡Pobre México, tan cerca de los Estados Unidos y tan lejos de Dios!... more In Mexico there is a saying: "¡Pobre México, tan cerca de los Estados Unidos y tan lejos de Dios!" ("Poor Mexico -so close to the United States yet so far from God!"). For us, this piece of popular wisdom conveys some of the issues that the students of English in Mexico confront: they are so close to English by virtue of being so near to the United States, yet so far from English because of the assumptions about the standards of English, the accepted styles of English usage, and the ghost of the native speaker which hovers so close to their pursuits. Furthermore, the phrase "so close yet so far" captures the essence of our need to look at the global and local dynamics of agency, identity, and culture in the pursuit of English as an additional language (Angeles Clemente and Michael Higgins).
The national English program in Mexico was formally launched in 2009. The new program supplanted ... more The national English program in Mexico was formally launched in 2009. The new program supplanted various state programs, and aimed to create a coherent, uniform curriculum that extended English instruction to all public school students across the country. The article describes the development, evolution, and changes as the program was piloted and implemented. The authors synthesize various sources to identify the accomplishments of the program and the challenges that remain. They argue that a main concern, from a policy perspective, is that the program has not been conceptualized as part of a broader coherent language education policy, and that the program has been implemented not as an education policy, but as a series administrative and fiscal actions. Hence, while the program has succeeded in expanding access to English in public schools, it has not had continuity and has been characterized by inconsistency and change.
Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics, 2015
Chapters by Peter Sayer
Encyclopedia of Bilingual Education, 2008
Encyclopedia of Bilingual Education, 2008
Encyclopedia of Bilingual Education, 2008
Wright/The Handbook of Bilingual and Multilingual Education, 2015
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Books by Peter Sayer
Research Articles by Peter Sayer
Chapters by Peter Sayer